Ghana News Agency

Wednesday 7th June, 2017

By
Kester Kenn Klomegah/Kelvin Dewey Stubborn, Moscow
Moscow, June 4, GNA –
Russia and Nigeria have taken steps to deepen their economic and political
ties, after Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Geoffrey
Onyeama, held diplomatic talks with his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, during an
official visit to Moscow, Russia.
Lavrov held talks with
Onyeama and his delegation on M

By
Kester Kenn Klomegah/Kelvin Dewey Stubborn, Moscow

Moscow, June 4, GNA –
Russia and Nigeria have taken steps to deepen their economic and political
ties, after Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Geoffrey
Onyeama, held diplomatic talks with his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, during an
official visit to Moscow, Russia.

Lavrov held talks with
Onyeama and his delegation on May 30. The foreign ministers discussed issues
pertaining to the steady development of bilateral ties in political, trade,
economic and humanitarian areas. They concentrated on prospects of cooperation
in the nuclear industry, hydrocarbon processing, infrastructure projects and
exports of Russian industrial products to Nigeria.

The ministers further
held an in-depth exchange of views on international and regional issues,
focusing on countering terrorism and extremism, settling crises in Africa,
primarily in the Sahara and the Sahel, and fighting pirates in the Gulf of
Guinea.

After the closed
meeting, Lavrov told a media conference that the meeting noted a strong
potential for cooperation in areas such as hydrocarbon production and processing,
nuclear power industry and agriculture, and further expressed mutual interest
in continued military-technical and military cooperation and training civilian
specialists and law enforcement officers for Nigeria at Russian universities.

"Certainly, the
complicated problems that persist on the African continent require coordinated
actions of the Africans themselves, with the support of the international
community," Lavrov said.

Russia consistently
demands that Africans, first, find the "keys" to African problems,
and that the international community should provide moral, political and
material support to these efforts. Russia, for instance, has advocated for the
fastest possible elimination of instability on the continent, primarily in the
Sahara-Sahel zone, South Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic.

The Russian Foreign
Affairs Minister, however, noted Nigeria's considerable contribution to
peacekeeping efforts in all the regions, and added that Russia would be ready
to contribute to common efforts to strengthen regional stability through the
appropriate efforts at the UN Security Council, through bilateral relations
with African countries, including training peacekeepers and equipping
peacekeeping contingents in African countries.

Russia and Nigeria
plan to step up an uncompromising fight against international terrorism that
threatens national security in both countries and, objectively, the security of
all countries. With regard to Nigeria, this of course refers to the heightened
activity of the Boko Haram terrorist organisation that was associated with
so-called ISIS.

"We will continue
to support the Nigerian government's efforts to fight this evil. Of course, the
well-known initiative of President Vladimir Putin on establishing a
wide-ranging anti-terrorist front based on international law and without
attempts to artificially bar someone from taking part in it remains
relevant," Lavrov stressed.

Dr Maurice Okoli,
Chairman and CEO of Markol Group, which is based in Moscow but with business
links to Nigeria, China and Britain, explained that and his business delegation
to Russia came at the right time when Nigeria as a country is facing numerous
challenges.

"Russia and
Nigeria have enjoyed a very good political and economic relationship that has
lasted for many years and Onyeama’s visit will definitely lift that
relationship to another level. We are also looking forward that the visit will
touch political and economic issues for the mutual benefits for both countries.
It is our hope that this visit will help to boast cooperation between Nigeria
and Russia especially in the area of fighting Boko Haram insurgency thereby
improving security and stability in Nigeria and the region in general," Dr
Okoli remarked.

Dr Okoli added:
"Russia as country has experienced islamic insurgency in the past and
having great wealth of experience in handling such issues, i have no doubt that
Russian government advise and support will be of an immense value in dealing
with the problem of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and west Africa sub
region."

There is high optimism
among business elite and, of course, conditions for raising especially
Russia-Nigerian economic cooperation. Russia plans to help Nigeria explore for
oil and gas. Nigeria has expressed interest in Russia, helping it build nuclear
power plants, petroleum pipelines, railways and other infrastructure. Both
Russia and Nigeria have a wealth of minerals - and some could be the basis of
additional commerce between the two. Nigeria's natural resources include gold,
bauxite, zinc, tantalum, iron ore and coal.

Nigeria and Russia are
both "large economies" and "rich in natural resources,"
Goodie Ibru, head of the Chamber of Commerce of Lagos, Nigeria's largest city,
said at one of the bilateral economic conferences held previously, adding that
"although Nigeria is smaller in terms of technology and infrastructure
development, there's a lot for both countries to benefit from."

The Federal Government
of the Republic of Nigeria has, indeed, expressed its support for any Russian
genuine and legal investment. Without doubts, Nigeria remains "one of the
best countries in the world to do business because of guaranteed return on
investment."

Ibrahim Usman Gafai,
Charge d'Affaires and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Embassy of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria in Moscow, told Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview
that economic relations between both countries have steadily developed during
the past few years with a number of leading Russian companies establishing
their presence in Nigeria.

Tellingly, Russian
investment in Nigeria covers such areas as energy, iron and steel, and
hydrocarbon. Over the years, the diplomatic relationships have also witnessed
the establishment of Russia-Nigeria Business Council (RNBC) which oversees
economic activities between the two countries.

So far, the two
countries have held three meetings of the Joint Commission, the last was held
as far back in 2009. The Joint Commission is the platform for the two countries
to sit down and draw up agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on how
to conduct businesses and investment in each other's country.

Russia’s trade figures
with Nigeria and many African countries are hard to find. Interestingly, Russia
and Nigeria's two-way trade was a modest $350 million in 2013. Authorities in
both countries have repeatedly said that it should be many times larger, given
that Russia is the biggest market in the former Soviet Union and Nigeria the
biggest market in Africa.

"Unfortunately,
trade volume between Nigeria and Russia has been comparatively low and highly
skewed in favor of Russia. There has been an attempt to balance the current
trend through boosting economic relations between the two friendly
nations," Ibrahim Gafai acknowledged.

On the other hand,
Russian businesses are also encouraged to participate in various annual trade
fairs organised by different Chambers of Commerce in Nigeria. In addition, the
Moscow's Nigerian Embassy will continue to call on the two countries to create an
investment forum to showcase their potentialities in each other's territory.

But, the major
challenge facing investors from both sides of the divide is dearth of
information on each other's business environment. This has, over the years,
created a condition of uncertainty and misgivings among prospective investors.

As part of the
initiatives to contribute to revamping the Nigerian economy, Nigerians under
the auspices of Nigerians in Diaspora Organization in Europe (NIDOE), the
Russian Chapter in collaboration with Russia-Nigeria Business Council,
Institute of African Studies and Russian ministries and agencies have adopted
corporate strategies in identifying and wooing potential Russian businesses and
industry directors to invest in Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Within the context of
strengthening the entire relations, it is also necessary to foster cooperation
with support from the Intergovernmental Russian-Nigerian Mixed Commission for
Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, and also by stepping up direct
contacts between members of the Russian and Nigerian business communities as
suggested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.